WELCOME!

Associates in Advocacy now has two sites on the internet. Our primary help site is at http://www.aiateam.org/. There AIA seeks to offer aid to troubled pastors, mainly those who face complaints and whose careers are on the line.

Help is also available to their advocates, their caregivers, Cabinets, and others trying to work in that context.

This site will be a blog. On it we will address issues and events that come up.

We have a point of view about ministry, personnel work, and authority. We intend to take the following very seriously:

THE GOLDEN RULE
THE GENERAL RULES
GOING ONTO PERFECTION

Some of our denomination's personnel practices have real merit. Some are deeply flawed. To tell the difference, we go to these criteria to help us know the difference.

We also have a vision of what constitutes healthy leadership and authority. We believe it is in line with Scripture, up-to-date managerial practice, and law.

To our great sadness, some pastors who become part of the hierarchy of the church, particularly the Cabinet, have a vision based on their being in control as "kings of the hill," not accountable to anyone and not responsible to follow the Discipline or our faith and practice. They do not see that THE GOLDEN RULE applies to what they do.

If you are reading this, the chances are you are not that way. We hope what we say and do exemplify our own best vision and will help you fulfill yours. But we cannot just leave arrogance, incompetence, and ignorance to flourish. All of us have the responsibility to minimize those in our system.

We join you in fulfilling our individual vow of expecting to be perfect in love in this life and applying that vow to our corporate life in the United Methodist Church.

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If you have any questions or suggestions, direct them to Rev. Jerry Eckert. His e-mail address is aj_eckert@hotmail.com. His phone number is 941 743 0518. His address is 20487 Albury Drive, Port Charlotte, FL 33952.

Thank you.

(9/26/07)


Saturday, May 14, 2011

JCD 1163

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1283&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1100&EN=1189

The New York Conference faced dealing with a resolution about welcoming LGBT persons but which the bishop ruled out of order. Despite efforts to amend the resolution, the bishop persisted in ruling it out of order. Finally, the bishop asked for a motion to support his ruling, which the plenary did. The Council was left with a parliamentary situation that it has no jurisdiction to resolve.

It has to be frustrating to advocates for resolutions when they cannot overcome a parliamentary move which passes the house though the bishop had no real grounds.

Even though the resolution took up a large chunk of time in the Conference's agenda, by being voted as out of order, made all that work legally meaningless. The vote in support of the bishop meant it was not before the conference and hence, the Council had no jurisdiction.

This Council often provides enough history to understand the circumstances and their decision.

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